After watching some highlight clips of Neal and mulling this decision to select Neal as the 1st pickwhat is your opinion of selecting him ? My opinion Neal has to be similar to Chancellor or else it isn't worth the no1 pick. Falcons don't need a very good player they need pro bowl material. This is the problem with the current regime. Sure you fill a need but selecting an above average player won't cut it while teams like Carolina who clearly has more talent will continue to dominant. They dominate because they build their team with the front 7 and can get to the QB. The Falcons for whatever reason have decided that def backs are critical to building a defense. The problem with this way of thinking is your def backs can only stay with receivers so long before they get beat. A pass rush can get to the QB and pressure him to make bad decisions much better than having a quality def back team. Why can't the powers that be in Flowery Branch understand this?

I think Quinn because he knows Neal let that influence his decision more than the actual talent of Neal. This can get a team in trouble when evaluating. Sure you might like the player and know his ability but you let that influence you more than actually picking a player with more talent which would help the Falcons more ultimately. Falcons don't need William Moore 2 they need Kim Chancellor 2 what it comes down to. Guess will see how good Neal can be.

Quinn better win this year no more excuses. Two years in a row Falcons use premium picks on def backs with still no pass rush. I guess Falcons brass feel we can get alot of coverage sacks since our def line is so anemic. Falcons brass doesn't think value but if they like the player and as the measurables. There is more to a player than measurables how about instincts knowing how to play the game. Falcs need playmakers not players who look good in their shorts. Falcon brass can recover if they make their second rd pick a good value pick. Last 2 yrs Falc fans have come away afer finding out who the 2nd rd pick saying whose he? Falcs need more of a finished product not another 3-5 yr project. If some how the Falcs finish 500 or below this yr Quinn will be getting heat and the Falcon front office as a good chance to be cleaned out.

Keanu Neal = more speed, a lot more of the Cover 3 that Seattle likes. And it dovetails with the pick in the second round, Deion Jones, adding speed.

If the speed improvement saves a touchdown every third game, it reduces the points the Falcs give up by bit more than 2 a game. If instead every other game it turns a TD into a field goal, just about the same effect on scoring.

I don't think Neal has quite the same value as a good pass-rusher like Shaq Lawson, but let's be real here, if Neal or someone similar isn't on this roster this year, this team was going to be extremely, extremely soft up the middle of the defense.

As for the pass rush, the hope is that Vic BEasley, Grady Jarrett take a significant step forward. Adrian Clayborn and Derrick Shelby also show improvement from their previous production, and there's always the stable presence of Babs. If Hageman also improves, then there's reason to believe that the pass rush will be better (can it get worse than 19 sacks?).

Not to mention, next year is expected to be stacked with pass rushers. With the Falcons likely poised to have a Top 15 pick next year, they should be in a good position to get a real difference maker there at the top of the draft if they don't grab someone in free agency. They are likely to have a bunch of cap space as well that they should be able to spend in free agency.